Introduction

2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea,
and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

The subject of this book is perhaps the greatest, and certainly the largest of all Biblical topics. Because the Everlasting Covenant involves every aspect of theology, no small work could ever address it adequately. The magnificent plan of the immortal, invisible God regarding the redemption of lost souls from the power of Death is, without a doubt, the entire thrust of Holy Writ. God has laid open the very core of His redemptive work from Genesis to Revelation.

The Everlasting Covenant has as its nucleus the absolute sovereignty of God over mankind, salvation from the bondage of sin, and the final glorification of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. The everlasting God is the God of an Everlasting Covenant. Therefore, the realization and understanding of this Everlasting Covenant are an integral part of knowing God. The great Promise of the Bible (2 Corinthians 1:20) could only be executed if an eternal God were the Author. If the Covenant is effective, then it is only because of the integrity and faithfulness of God. The Scriptures continually affirm this unwavering integrity and faithfulness, especially as it pertains to the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants. These are essentially two extensions of the Everlasting Covenant.

Hebrews 6:13-17 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
Psalms 89:1-8 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. 3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, 4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah. 5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. 6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? 7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. 8 O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

As the faithfulness of God is confirmed in the Scriptures, this should cause one to highly esteem any promises that are recorded, both in their effect and their frame of time. Of course, this is a fundamental element of the Gospel of truth: that is, highly esteeming the promises of God both in their outworking and their timeframe is one of the fruits of a true and saving faith. In light of this, we must pay careful attention to the greatest and most encompassing of all the promises in Scripture-the Everlasting Covenant.

The verse, “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us,” 2 Corinthians 1:20, is an important verse to analyze, especially as it pertains to a first-century Christian’s mode of thought. Namely, what would first-century Christians in Corinth be thinking upon reception of this letter by the apostle Paul? We must keep in mind the fact that the Bible was never meant to be divided into two totally different sections entitled Old Testament (O.T.) and New Testament (N.T.). This division was merely man’s way of making a clear distinction between the time of Christ and the Old Testament prophets. However, nothing in God’s perfect and holy word ever even suggests that division. Thus, it will be of great help to understand that the group of books entitled The New Testament is simply a continuation of God’s word that has been traditionally called The Old Testament. Who was God addressing in Genesis through Malachi? Was it not the Jews? Should it not be expected that the rest of the Scriptures would be primarily addressed to the same group? Once we start seeing the New Testament in terms of Jewish association, the otherwise confusing statements will be clearer and dispel any tradition that has kept us close-minded. However, because the majority of Christian culture is used to identifying the Greek Testament as the New Testament, this book will address it likewise. Nevertheless, we must always keep in mind the continuity of the Abrahamic Covenant through both the Hebrew and Greek Testaments.

If we examine the immensity of the statement “For ALL the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us,” we will see the enormous implications that a statement like this would carry. What were the promises of which Paul was speaking? With what promises were the first-century Jews aquainted? There is only one promise that contains many promises that virtually every Jew understood: the Abrahamic Covenant. In all the prophecies of a time when there would be “peace,” “dwelling safely,” “no more hunger nor thirst,” etc., it is scripturally impossible to separate the promises from the Abrahamic Covenant. Therefore, this book will show that the Abrahamic Covenant is complete in Christ Jesus. It also will prove that the Abrahamic Covenant, the New Covenant, and the Everlasting Covenant are all the same Covenant.

One of the major issues that must be addressed is the role that the Gentiles play in the Everlasting or Abrahamic Covenant.

The Gentile element is an integral part in the ultimate realization of the Abrahamic Covenant as shown in the seventeenth chapter of Genesis:

Genesis 17:4-6 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

Since first-century Jews were very aware of this Covenant, it should be made clear that Paul’s statement of all the promises being fulfilled in Christ would mean far more than it would to an uninformed twentieth-century Gentile. The whole Jewish hope was based upon this initial Abrahamic promise and all the related promises interspersed throughout the prophets. The Jews understood well that the realization of the Abrahamic Covenant being fulfilled would be demonstrated by Abraham’s seed, or Seed becoming his children, hence, “the father of many nations.” This is why Paul, particularly in Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, placed so much emphasis on the Gentiles becoming children of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ. Consequently, any first-century converted Jew would understand Paul’s explicit phraseology confirming the Abrahamic Covenant coming to fulfillment as the Gentiles repented in faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Cross of Christ, His Resurrection, and Parousia (presence) are all a part of the fulfillment of the Everlasting Covenant. Every New Testament writer had an eager expectation and realization of the Abrahamic Covenant. If, in fact, they were led in all truth (John 16:13), then we must assume that their every expectation of glory and the fulness of redemption were valid expectations. There was no deluded hope. There were no hopes in physical realities, only a certain hope that every aspect of God’s promises of a spiritual everlasting kingdom was about to be fulfilled.

If you are sincerely grieved about the continuous lies of false prophets and deceivers (in some cases unaware) intent on getting your money and mind, and you are diligently studying to “show yourself approved unto God,” and not unto men, then, with your Bibles ready and by the grace of Jesus Christ, you will benefit greatly from the Scriptures laid open in this book.

As we affirm the complete establishment of the kingdom of God, the glory of Christ is demonstrated among otherwise bleak systems of a decaying worldview. The full realization of the complete redemption of the believer will bring due honor for the reigning King of the kingdoms of this world. We as Christians are called to humility in view of the clarity of God’s holy word in regard to the establishment of His magnificent City. In this humility, we will both magnify our God by giving Him glory for fulfilling all His promises, and as Christians, we will experience the fulness of joy as we revel in Life more abundantly!